Yosemite's Winter Magic: Firefall and Snow Hiking in February
Now that the busyness of the summer months has subsided and the leaves of the few non-evergreen trees in Yosemite have long dropped, the park takes on a truly magical atmosphere once again in winter. However, this particular day was not like any other. I was relieved and pleasantly surprised not to witness the anticipated hustle and bustle, at least not yet. In the evening, everything would change. Mentally prepared, I tried to embrace the fact that this was to be a very special experience shared with many—the firefall.
The firefall does not — materially speaking — have anything to do with heat and actual fire. It is called this because it visually appears as if fire or lava is falling off a cliff. The ‘cliff’ is located at the eastside of El Capitan and what may appear as the firefall is the horsetail fall, a small waterfall, that is — if at all — only flowing in winter.
We did not just come for the firefall though. We also wanted to hike the winter route to the Vernal and Nevada Falls, which combine parts of the John Muir and Mist Trail. This year was a lucky one in winter because the falls were not completely dried out.
But let’s start from the beginning:
"Great, now we have everything we need!’, I said when looking at the brown package that we just picked up from a shop along our way. The brand-new microspikes inside would serve us well in navigating the icy underground that we were going to soon have under our feet. The contrasts in California climate in winter – as well as in summer – are quite astonishing. While the trees are already blooming in pink, white and yellow shades at the Californian coast, the Sierra Nevada with its high mountain ranges still shivers with cold and snow. I personally love these contrasts as much as I love the extremes.
I had been closely and nervously following the weather forecast for days. I was so much looking forward to this trip. But if there was the possibility of a snow storm or heavy snow, we would have needed to call it off. We were lucky. Just clear skies and no indication of fresh snowfall whatsoever.
As we entered the park, the roads were clear of snow. It was cold though and fog lingered around the valley. El Capitan rose majestically out of the fog. It was such a peaceful atmosphere.
We arrived late and left the park under the cover of darkness to catch some sleep before our early alarm rang the next day.
The following morning, we woke up early, eager for the day ahead. At 7 am, we were already set to begin our hike. There is no parking lot at the trailhead, so we had to park a bit further away at Curry Village and walked the road. The trail was clear of ice and snow at first. I was almost a little disappointed that it seemed like we might not even need our brand new tools. As we ascended our way up to Vernal Falls, the gray underground slowly started to mix with the freezing white. At the beginning, we could still avoid stepping on the ice, but the further we went, the more inevitable it became. We paused and strapped over our microspikes. As we stepped on the icy ground without slipping, my brain needed a second to process this. Quickly, you could not see anything of the trail under the snow and ice anymore. There were not a lot of human footsteps on the trail anymore, but many animal prints that seemed to have crossed our path earlier. The snow got deeper and deeper, but only up to a level that was still well manageable with microspikes. We paused a couple of them along our way to enjoy in the the magnificent views of Vernal & Nevada Falls and soak in the peaceful atmosphere.
We continued until we reached an overlook over Vernal falls. No one was there besides us and a steller's jay that seemed to be curious about the only visitors in his habitat.
The waterfall was flowing heavily for winter. The typical rainbow that can be spotted appearing in the mist of the heavy water flow did not appear. It was no less magical though as the water plunged down the smooth rock face into the river covered with rocks that appeared like ice floes at this time of year. After enjoying the view for a while, we continued until we crossed the footbridge to the top of Nevada Falls and turned around — to make sure that we did still get a parking spot within walking distance to the firefall. On the way down, more and more people populated the trail. I was happy that we had decided to come early.
We decided to get warm and cozy before heading to the Horsetail Fall. So, we got hot chocolate and a coffee first. Warmed up, we drove to the parking lot that was starting to slowly fill up. Excited for what might happen when the sun goes down, we headed to the viewing areas — together with A LOT of other people — quite contrary to our hike earlier.
Even though it was not exactly warm that evening in February, we spread out our blanket on the cold grass, set up our tripod, as did many others and waited with a snack of juicy dates in our hands.
I’m sure that this experience was a completely different one before social media made the firefall famous. And while I am often saddened by the changes that some places or experiences have undergone as a result, here I was able to embrace it. Everyone here was united in some way for the one thing that might not even happen, patiently waiting and staring minute by minute at the gray rock surface.
As the sun began to set, it seemed like the conditions could be good – at least the cloudless sky allowed a clear path for the sun to shine at the waterfall. The shine of the sun got more and more focused on the waterfall, becoming more golden minute after minute. And then – the sun was gone.
No fire glow, just a bit of a reddish touch.
Were we at the wrong spot, we wondered? A park ranger explained that though the weather conditions were quite good, the timing was not perfect. And so the firefall just was a reddish-golden fall in a way.
Even though the sun was already gone, the Horsetail Fall shone a last time silvery before it got completely dark.
On our way back, we tried to adapt our eyes to the pitch black surroundings. Suddenly, the girl walking in front of us started to scream. She pointed at the sky and we were immediately in awe: There was a chain of bright lights slowly moving through the night sky. They were strung together like pearls on a necklace.
Did we see extraterrestrial life first hand? Everyone was talking about what seemed so unbelievable.
— Well, it turned out – it wasn’t THAT extraterrestrial. The lights were just the Starlink Satellites that were visible just because of the very low light pollution in Yosemite. Still fascinating to observe and an exciting end of our trip.
Know Before You Go
Entry reservations are required for several weekends in February. Please find more infos on exact dates on the National Park Service Website.
The chances to see the firefall highly depend on (weather) conditions like wind, cloud cover, the exact angle of the sun, and the waterflow of the Horsetail Fall.
Safety
If you plan to hike, definitely bring crampons or microspikes, it’s probably going to be icy!
Check the weather frequently before entering the park and avoid entering if there is a snowstorm in the forecast.
Winter tires are a must and bring snow chains as well – they may become obligatory at any time (they may check if you are carrying them) – the weather in the mountains can change quickly.
I’d love to hear from you
Have you been hiking in Yosemite during winter or even witnessed the firefall?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
